


Joining a family

by Aknolan



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-16 14:13:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16087757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aknolan/pseuds/Aknolan
Summary: Lena tries to adjust to her new life in the mansion.





	Joining a family

The first thing you noticed was how heavy your clothes felt. The second thing you noticed was that you could actually feel heat and cold again. The third thing you noticed was Webby tackling you with a hug. You both ended up on the ground, though Webby didn't seem to care, and in all honestly neither did you. Hugging Webby was one of the things you'd missed most when you were stuck as her shadow. Webby spoke and it was a lot less loud and excited than usual, though she still sounded happy. "I've missed you so much." And. Well. It's not like you were _gone_ but still. "I've missed you too." When Webby was done hugging you (at least for now) you had a chance to get up, though you didn't get very far before being tackled by three boys. It was unexpected since you hadn't exactly been nice to the boys before, especially huey, and they'd all been eaten by a money shark which was kind of your fault so you didn't quite get why they weren't mad, but you were also glad. Their hug didn't last nearly as long as Webby's did, and this time you were actually able to get up. You finally had a chance to look around.

Beakley was near the door, smiling at you, which felt strange because even though she was the reason you'd always been allowed entry into the mansion before, she still never seemed to approve of your presence before, it was more like she tolerated it for Webby. Which was probably exactly what it had been. But something had changed, and you weren't sure what, by all accounts, what Beakley knew about you now was way worse than before. But you'd figure that out later, the other people in the room were Donald and Scrooge. Donald walked up to you and put a hand on your shoulder, smiling. "Welcome home, Lena." You managed to figure out what he was saying and smiled back. "Thank you." Donald moved aside as Scrooge walked over to you. "Lena. I made you a promise, and I do not break promises. So, you may call me uncle Scrooge, or anything else you'd like, and if there's anything you'd like me to call you, all you have to do is ask." You were stunned for a moment, tears forming in your eyes, though you tried to hide how emotional you were. "I'd like to be called 'queen of the world' please." (Uncle) Scrooge chuckled. "Alright then, queen of the world." Usually, you weren't one to get so emotional you couldn't hide it behind sarcasm but the entire situation was just too much. All you could do was give (uncle) Scrooge a hug, hoping nobody would notice that you were crying. "I was just kidding, Lena is fine." (Uncle) Scrooge returned the hug. "Alright then, Lena. I trust I'll hear about it if that ever changes."

When you let go of (uncle) Scrooge, timed so that your tears wouldn't be too obvious, you noticed that the only person who hadn't said anything yet was Beakley. She was back to her usual serious face which was mildly concerning. "Lena, there are some things we need to talk about, so please come find me when you're ready. For now, I wasn't sure if you'd be hungry so I prepared some food just in case. Do you want me to bring the food here?" And okay, you were hungry, and Beakley offering food was a good sign. But the 'things we need to talk about' wasn't great, who knew what that could mean. You could already hear the words _'If you make one wrong move, if you break one rule, if I see you doing anything that might hurt someone even once, you are never getting back into this house, is that clear?'_ echoeing through your head. You shake your head a little, trying to get the thought out, before realizing that Beakley had also asked you a question. "I mean... As long as it's not english muffins with maple syrup, yes, I'd like that." Beakley sighed, "You know you don't have to say that any time I mention food right?" "I know." You thought you saw a glimpse of a smile as Beakley turned away from you to get the food. Strange. You turned around and- Suddenly you were on the ground again. A direct result of Webby's patience running out.

Webby moved to sit on her knees right after, giving you the space to do the same, as she grabbed something. "Here, I know Magica made you throw the old one away, so I made you a new bracelet." Webby handed the bracelet over to you, this time you were paying attention and felt a tingle of magic as you put it on your wrist. It looked almost exactly like your old one, and since the old one was probably somewhere underwater, this new bracelet was probably closer to the way you remembered it by now. "Thank you." You thought she'd be mad about, well, everything, including how you threw away your old friendship bracelet. Instead, she made you a new one. Tears were forming in your eyes again as you hugged Webby. By Zeus you were being such a crybaby right now. You didn't mind as much as you usually would, since the people in the room were all (uncle) Scrooge's family, and you were (uncle) Scrooge's family so, one could argue that everyone here was part of your family. And a way better one than you'd had previously too.

* * *

After a very slow meal where Beakley had warned you about the dangers of eating too fast when it's been a while since you last had any food at all once every five seconds, you decided that whatever it was Beakley wanted to talk about, you might as well get it over with. You put your plate on the table and got out of the chair, both of which had been moved to this room because apparently it was worth the effort just so you wouldn't have to do too much. You didn't have the energy to protest, so they did have a point. "Alright tea time, what did you need to talk about?" "If you would follow me, please, there is a lot to talk about." You glanced at Webby who was giving you a double thumbs up, only reassuring you a little. _Well, no way to avoid it now._

You followed Beakley through hallway after hallway, wondering if the mansion had some kind of magic to make it bigger on the inside. It wasn't very likely, but it was the least terrifying thing you could wonder about right now so you wondered anyways. After a while, you got to Beakley's room where she told you to wait while she grabbed something. Thankfully, she was back before your mind could wander off to the worst options. Beakley held a bag which was coloured in shades of gray and black in one hand, and a bag in shades of blue and purple in the other. "I wasn't certain what you would like, so I hope these bags are good enough. You can choose one or take them both if you want, they both have the same things in them." And, okay, so, bags. Bags by themselves weren't a bad thing, but they could hold things, which meant the options, while a lot more limited, were still way more than you liked. Though you did appreciate the colours.

"What's in them?" Beakley walked over to one of the many tables in the hallways and put the bags on it before looking back to Lena. "Well, it's not much for now, some paper, some pens, and a list." Beakley opened one of the bags and grabbed the list out of it which was several pages, holding it up for Lena to see. "These are the house rules, please do not encourage anyone to break them. I have marked the most important ones. I'd prefer it if you don't break any rules, but if you must, at least don't break the ones I've marked." You grabbed the list, which included things like schedules for doing the dishes and taking off your coat before entering the mansion (unmarked) but also things like not setting the mansion on fire (marked). You scanned the list, looking at the marked ones, all mostly coming down to 'don't do anything that will endanger people', though one of them caught your eye.

"You know, last I checked, you all used magic to bring me back and Webby and I have magic friendship bracelets, so what's with the 'no magic' rule?" "Some exceptions have been made, and I am aware that this rule is not entirely fair to you, it is on my list of things I will discuss with mr. McDuck." You weren't sure if you hoped she'd convince (Uncle) Scrooge or not, you weren't sure if you wanted to have anything at all to do with magic ever again or not. You guessed that having the option wouldn't be a bad thing. Besides, you had other things to be concerned about. "What's on the rest of the list?" you said as you handed the list of rules back to Beakley, who put it back in one of the bags. "Your allowance, for one, unless you'd like to go clothes shopping with me or mr. McDuck, you will need some kind of income. Of course it wouldn't just be for clothing, so if possible it would help if you would make a list of other things you would want to spend money on, no need to be specific, it would only serve to more easily convince mr. McDuck that you need a bigger allowance than the other kids. But, don't worry if you can't make a list, I _will_ convince him."

The world seemed to start spinning ever so slightly and you felt the need to steady yourself against the wall, though you stubbornly refused to do so. This was Beakley, telling you that you would get money for nothing, telling you she would try to convince (uncle) Scrooge, a man who hated magic, who had fought a sorcerer who could only get to him because _you_ practically handed him to her on a silver platter, to let you use it anyways. This was Beakley, the same person who once told you that you would never set foot in the mansion again, now telling you about all of the effort she would go to in an attempt to make life in the mansion more comfortable for you. "Well, what else is there on that list of yours?" And, oops, that came out sounding way more annoyed than you meant, and besides it was also rude not to even thank Beakley for all the effort she would put in. And yet. All she did was raise an eyebrow at your tone. "There is one more thing on my list, which is that I hope to convince mr. McDuck that under no circumstances should you ever be denied entrance to the mansion. And by no circumstances I do mean that even in the extremely unlikely event where you manage to antagonize everyone in the mansion, you will always have a place in the mansion. You will never have to sleep in a cramped room under an abandoned amphitheater or anything similar ever again if you don't want to." Once she finished her sentence, Beakley immediately turned around to do something with the bags, though you were 99% sure that she was only pretending to do something. You were already crying, a strange combination of confusion and relief hijacking your thoughts. Everything was going to be fine. Beakley was helping you, and even if you messed up everything, you would still end up better off than you were before coming to the mansion. Your vision was blurry and your thoughts were a mess, but one thing was clear as day.

"Mrs. Beakley?" You couldn't see much but you could see enough to notice Beakley was startled, and you could also see the way she seemed to slowly turn around. "Yes, dear?" Under any other circumstance, you would have used one of your really bad distractions to get out of the situation you'd created yourself, but you were overwhelmed and confused and relieved all at once. "Can I... hug you?" You had just enough clarity to wish you'd wiped your tears away first so you could actually see the surprise on Beakley's face. Just not enough clarity to actually do it. You weren't sure what to expect, perhaps just a 'no' or anything similar, but instead you heard her voice, as kind and warm and gentle as you'd only ever heard towards Webby. "Of course dear." You wiped your tears away so you could actually see enough to manage a hug without just bumping into Beakley instead. You felt two big arms around you, covering your entire back, which would have been concerning if you didn't know that the moment you moved away, Beakley would let go. You let go before it became a particularly long hug, stepping back to wipe away your own tears yet again. Beakley waited patiently as you calmed down a bit, back to pretending she needed to do something with the bags, until you eventually told her you were okay now.

"Then it's time for the last thing we need to discuss for now, your room. You can still have as many sleepovers with Webby as the two of you want, but you will need your own room too. Most of it can be prepared for tonight, though a few things such as a new lock would be more difficult, and if there's any furniture you want that we cannot get from somewhere in the mansion that will have to wait a few days too. Which reminds me that if there is anything you need, including furniture, you may ask in whichever way you want, provided it's understandable and polite." You nodded seriously, eyes closed and arms crossed. "That explains why Donald still lives in the pool." You opened one eye to see Beakley smiling at you. "Yes it does, especially since his handwriting is incomprehensible too." You stifled a laugh as Beakley continued. "Don't worry, you'll get better at understanding what he's saying, not the handwriting though." She was smiling at you. You couldn't help smiling back.

Beakley's face went back to serious. "Back to the matter of your room, you may pick any room that is not already in use, though I'd imagine you'll want one near Webby, correct?" You nodded, not finding it in you to admit it out loud. Which was dumb, because of course everyone knew how much you cared about Webby, the magic of your friendship with her literally gave you a physical form. That didn't mean you would say so to Beakley, who was just turning and started walking in the direction of Webby's room. "Near Webby's room there are a few options which I think you might like, I'll show you."

You followed Beakley as she showed you the rooms, it wasn't very far since Beakley's room was already close to Webby's room anyways. The first had red curtains, red carpets, a desk with some more red, red blankets, and more. The rest of the room was brown. Needless to say, you weren't a fan, though Beakley explained the options for remodeling, you really didn't care much for the effort it would take to turn this into a livable space. There were only two things this room had going for it, one was the bathroom connected to it and the other was that there was already a bed.

The next room was across from the first, it was exactly the same, but mirrored and without any furniture or decoration. Just an empty brown room with a bathroom attached to it. It was an improvement. You still didn't like it though, and you moved on. Beakley showed several more rooms, one didn't have a bathroom, another was painted in incredibly bright colours, yet another one had curtains that might as well not have existed which meant you'd wake up as soon as the sun got up and nobody would enjoy that, but eventually you got to one that seemed different.

The room had very basic furniture, a closet, some drawers, a bed. The colours were dark, deep reds and browns, but they were still warm colours. There was a bathroom attached, as a strangely large ammount of rooms in the mansion did. Or maybe that was just because Beakley showed the best. You moved over to the curtains, feeling the fabric. It was a rather thick fabric and when you shone your phone's flashlight on it, nothing seemed to get through to the other side. Something was strange about the room. You looked at Beakley, trying to see if she would explain something, though all she did when she noticed you was smile, close the door behind herself, and turn off the lights and-... the ceiling, the walls, even the curtains, they all had little pinpricks of lights on them. You pointed your flashlight up at the ceiling and wherever your flashlight pointed, the lights disappeared. You used your flashlight to move to the bed, one of the only parts of the room that weren't glowing. Once there, you lied down and turned off your flashlight. The glow was faint enough that if you closed your eyes you didn't notice a thing, but when you opened your eyes it was, in a word, beautiful. It was a night sky with a faintly glowing disc representing the moon. The room was perfect, but something was nagging at you.

"Whose room was this?" You couldn't see Beakley in the darkness but there seemed to be a tinge of sadness in her voice. "Della's. I wasn't around the mansion back when this was her room, but when she still went adventuring with mr McDuck and Donald, they would sometimes talk about when they were younger. She had always loved the night sky so this was only fitting. She never stopped loving the night sky, but she did move into a different room eventually." "Well, that settles it then, I can't take the room of a long lost relative." "Lena, if you're worried about anyone in the family having a problem with it, it's not a problem." "Nope, still not taking it." Beakley turned the lights back on. "Then how about this, if there's anything in particular you like about any of the rooms we've seen, including how this one lights up like a night sky in the dark, you can tell me and I will make sure your room will have it." You looked at her, trying to figure out if the offer was genuine. Of course Beakley would keep her word, but would she be annoyed? You couldn't tell and didn't really want to risk it. "I'll be fine, I'll just sleep in the room we looked at just before this one. There's already a bed there anyways." You avoided looking at Beakley as you walked out of Della's old room and towards the one that would be yours. Beakley followed closely behind you.

Once you got to the room, Beakley handed you a key, explaining about locks she would change and other things she would to to make sure your room was fully under your control and nobody else's. Which was strange. Beakley had set down the bags next to the door so you reached down to grab one of them. You opened the bag and grabbed the first page of the house rules. Above the first rule, written larger than any of the others, were the words 'My house, my rules'. Beakley's house. Which your room was in. So, her house, her rules.  
"How can my room be all under my control again? It says right here that in your house everyone has to follow your rules."  
"Exceptions can always be made, as long as you don't endanger anyone with what you do in your room, it is, frankly speaking, none of my business."  
You honestly couldn't take it anymore, and while you were aware that what you were doing was ungrateful and rude, you didn't care. "Really? It's not? So then, does that mean it was none of your business when I wanted to watch a movie that you didn't like? Does that mean it was none of your business when Huey, Webby, and I went down into the subway system, where we weren't actually in any danger at any time before you found us? Does that mean it was none of your business any other time I was- I don't even know- a 'bad influence'? Because it sure seemed like it was your business then. So why-... why is it different now? Or are you only _saying_ it's different when it's actually not? Is that it?" You decided to try your british accent again, impersonating Beakley. "Why of course Lena dear, you will have complete and total privacy, I definitely will not be snooping around in your room, checking to see if you've broken any rules, using my secret copy of the key. It's all yours now and none of my business." You wanted to say more, to keep going and going and let out all of your anger, but the truth was, you ran out of things to be angry about that actually had to do with Beakley. You had plenty of anger, but no more words. So you just settled for glaring at the woman in front of you.

There was silence, for a while. When Beakley finally spoke, her voice was almost a whisper, as if she was on a snowy mountain and speaking too loudly might start an avalanche, and her tone was uncertain.

"That night down in the subways, I told you that Webby and the boys are good children with bright futures. You asked me what that makes you and-"  
"Yes, I didn't suffer memory loss, I remember that night very well. It was the night you almost prevented me and Magica from hurting anyone, but then you changed your decision and it backfired."  
"If you would let me finish, I would like to answer the question of what you would be. As I was saying, back then I didn't know, but now I have an idea of what you are. You're a troubled teenager who messes up sometimes, but you always try to do the right thing. I think that, if given the chance, you'll have a bright future too."

As Beakley was speaking, your eyes had widened more and more until they just couldn't anymore. Beakley kept trying and trying, offering help and kind words and everything she could, while you kept being rude about every little thing and- you couldn't. You'd already argued enough. Instead you hugged Beakley, whispering your thanks. You felt arms around you as Beakley responded. "Welcome home, Lena." For once, you believed that everything would turn out all right. For once, you felt safe. For once, you were home.


End file.
